


Kidnapped

by sunny_seize



Series: Kidnapped [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Iwaizumi Hajime, Alpha Matsukawa Issei, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Kidnapping, M/M, Minor Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Minor Violence, Omega Hanamaki Takahiro, Omega Oikawa Tooru, right person wrong time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:56:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29578530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunny_seize/pseuds/sunny_seize
Summary: Oikawa has big plans that are derailed when he is kidnapped in order to sway his politician father’s vote. But what happens when Oikawa agrees that the reason for kidnapping him is important enough to stay?
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Series: Kidnapped [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173026
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	Kidnapped

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: I do not know about government. Do not assume any of the government talk in this is real.
> 
> Note that tags please

Oikawa woke up with a blaring headache; a common theme that resurfaced over the past few days.

Except, this time, there was the scent of soothing alpha calming him down and relaxing his tension.

He wanted to throw something.

All he had was a pillow, and nobody was even in the room with him.

Deciding not to seem even more childish than he has exhibited over the last few days, he gets up to wash his face. At least these heathens had decent face wash.

Once that was done, he felt marginally better. He hadn’t had a shower since Thursday, and he was pretty certain that it was Monday now. He didn’t trust the alphas in the house enough to shower around them. He wasn’t going to put himself in that vulnerable position.

So far, sleeping was his most vulnerable state, and he only did that because his body wouldn’t physically let him stay awake for more than 30 hours. He tried staying awake Friday and Saturday, but he couldn’t. So, he compromised with his body by taking short cat naps throughout the day. He was physically exhausted, but he didn’t know what else to do.

Emerging from the bathroom, he encountered one of the alphas at the top of the stairs.

“Uh, breakfast is ready.”

Oikawa’s smile could cut glass. “No, thanks.”

The alpha frowned, but he didn’t push. Neither of the two alphas had pushed Oikawa about anything since they snuck up on him after volleyball practice and manhandled him into their car.

Or at least, he thought they manhandled him. They had knocked him out first, so he wasn’t entirely sure.

All he knew was that he had been kidnapped (omega-napped?), he was being held in a house that was literally in the middle of nowhere, and his only company were two alphas that honestly scared the shit out of Oikawa.

How the hell had this happened to him anyway?

~*~*~*~

Matsukawa stepped back into the kitchen. “He’s awake.”

Iwaizumi grunted. They hadn’t managed to get the stubborn omega to eat at all since he’s been here, so he wasn’t exactly surprised when he didn’t walk in with Matsukawa.

“Feel like we should get Takahiro here.”

Iwaizumi glanced up at that. He was scouring the news on his phone, but there was nothing about Oikawa Tooru’s disappearance. It was so unusual.

“Think it would help.” Matsukawa added.

Iwaizumi could only nod. It probably would. Hanamaki was an omega; he might be able to convince the stubborn omega upstairs to eat. “Call him.”

Matsukawa stepped out of the kitchen to make the call, and Iwaizumi turned back to his phone. He would have thought someone as prolific as Oikawa Tooru going missing would at least make local headlines, but this was ridiculous.

Then, he checked Twitter.

It seems like the only people talking about Oikawa Tooru’s disappearance were his teammates. They were tweeting at Oikawa to answer his phone, email, Twitter, _anything just answer!_

Iwaizumi tried not to feel bad. It didn’t work.

What they had done was huge. Sure, it was supposed to be a part of something bigger – something better than himself and Matsukawa, but… but it was wrong. Plain and simple.

Kidnapping (omega-napping?) an innocent omega for Iwaizumi’s own personal gain - let alone the gain of an entire organization - was questionable. Iwaizumi didn’t think his mother would approve.

Before he could let his thoughts tail spin into that downward spiral, Matsukawa stepped back into the kitchen. “Takahiro is on his way.”

~*~*~*~

A new scent. Omega. A new voice. Male.

What was going on?

Oikawa wanted to know. He wanted some fucking answers. He just…he was too terrified to get any. Which was a fucking joke. He was Oikawa Tooru. Pro Volleyball Player. The first omega ever to be recruited for the Japan national team. At least…he hoped he was still on the national team. He hadn’t been able to properly practice after being nabbed on Thursday. He hoped this little incident didn’t ruin his chances of playing in the Olympics.

Who the fuck was he kidding? He probably wasn’t even getting out of this alive.

 _Ohgodohgodohgodohgod_.

The door opened and shook him out of his thoughts. Oikawa jerked his head up, eyes wide as he looked at the doorway.

It was the omega.

“Hey.” He had blond (Oikawa squinted, or was it light pink?) hair, and he was really tall. His scent was soothing, and it reminded Oikawa that he was in a situation he had no control over. He was in this place, and he didn’t want to be here.

The omega slowly walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He carefully walked over to the chair that was across the room, pulled it out, and sat down on it backwards.

“You probably have a lot of questions and concerns.”

Oikawa could only blink at him. What was going on? Wait, he could just ask… “What is going on?”

The omega sighed. “Those idiots…” He said this as if to himself before looking directly at Oikawa. “My name is Hanamaki Takahiro. I’m an omega. I’m bonded to one of the idiots downstairs. The taller one.” A grin twisted his lips, as if sharing a joke that Oikawa didn’t understand the punchline to.

Oikawa stayed quiet, letting Hanamaki continue.

“You’re Oikawa Tooru, right?” He paused, waiting for Oikawa’s confirmation.

Oikawa gave a hesitant nod. Obviously, these guys already knew who he was. It might have even been the reason they took him.

“Yeah. Okay. So, again. You’re probably wondering why you’re here. Well, it has more to do with your father than with you.”

Ah.

“Whatever you’re expecting from him, he’s not going to do it.” The words were out of his mouth before he could think to filter them. Oikawa Hisashi was a powerful politician, but Tooru never boasted about having much sway over his father.

Hanamaki frowned at the statement but then shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, he’s going to have to do _something_ , right? His unmated, omega superstar son was captured in broad daylight, and he received a ransom note for your safe return.”

Oikawa almost rolled his eyes. “Again, don’t hold your breath. Actually, do. It’ll make my escaping easier.”

Another sigh was pulled from the light-haired omega. “You really think he wouldn’t want to get his only son back?”

Oikawa shrugged.

After waiting for a beat more, Hanamaki mimicked Oikawa with his own shrug. “Alright, fine. If he doesn’t, then what about your team? If they start pressing, asking questions, then what? He’ll have to act. At least meet some of our demands.”

Again, Oikawa just couldn’t see his dad responding to this at all. His mom would be worried – and he hated that she has to go through this – but his father wouldn’t cave so easily.

Another bout of silence followed, but curiosity got the better of Oikawa.

“Why me? What do you want?”

“It’s simple, really. Your father is a powerful politician. There’s a motion going for debate to be passed or vetoed in the next month. We – me, my friends, and the organization we are a part of – want that motion to pass. It’ll benefit omegas everywhere. When we found out that he was the only one on the fence, we knew we had to try something to sway him.”

Oikawa frowned. That didn’t sound like the whole story, but Hanamaki wasn’t offering anything more up. “What organization? Or is that top secret?”

Hanamaki paused, as if thinking it over. “It’s called O.R.A. Omega Rights Activists.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened. O.R.A. was a serious organization. Anyone with social media has heard of them. It’s made up of all designations, but primarily omegas. Oikawa had wanted to join at one point, but he couldn’t because of his professional career. While the O.R.A. sought to do amazing things, they had rather…unconventional ways of going about them.

Like kidnapping a politician’s son who was a pro volleyball player and recently recruited for the national team.

Hanamaki nodded, as if confirming something. “So, you’ve heard of us. Well, it’s nice to be recognized by association at least.”

Hanamaki Takahiro…

Realization dawned, and Oikawa said, “You’re the omega that was in the news last year.”

“Aww, so you do recognize my name.” Hanamaki’s features darkened. “Yeah, I am.”

Oikawa swallowed around a lump that formed in his throat. He didn’t envy the omega across from him. It had been all over the news. Hanamaki Takahiro was walking to one of his early morning classes after volleyball practice when he had been brutally assaulted by an alpha and a beta.

Another alpha stepped in but not before permanent damage was done to Hanamaki’s body. According to the news, they weren’t sure if Hanamaki would ever be able to walk again, let alone play volleyball anymore. Evidently, he could walk. Oikawa wondered if he could do any more than that, but he felt it was best he held his tongue for now.

“So, you see, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re an organization that was founded on protecting omegas rights. All we really want is to get your father’s attention and for him to meet our demands.”

“What’s the motion that you want passed?”

“It’s called the Omega Housing Notion. You’re aware that there’s some omegas who fall into certain guidelines that are forced into omega housing units, right? Well, this notion proposes it’s bullshit that omegas are still treated as invalids, and it would abolish omega housing units. Of course, the O.R.A. would push for slow abolishment, so that those living in the units would be able to get back on their feet as they matriculate back into society.”

Oikawa has heard of the housing units. He heard it was someplace he definitely didn’t want to be. Omegas who were unmated but had a child usually ended up in them. They were more like detention centers than housing units. He’s heard horror stories about the omegas living in housing units not being able to leave unless they were leaving with a mated alpha, and even then, they might have to leave their child behind if the child is an omega.

It was fucked, and Oikawa could see why they wanted to get rid of them. He just didn’t know if his father would ever vote for the motion passing. Oikawa would like to think he would, but he also knew his father. He probably wouldn’t unless something swayed his interest.

“It’s a lot to take in. Thank you for listening to me. Do you have any other questions?”

Oikawa only shook his head. He was awfully tired. And hungry. And he needed a shower.

Hanamaki stood, pushed the chair back in, and walked toward the door. “If you want…I can bring you up something to eat and drink? I’m also staying here the rest of the day, so if you felt more comfortable showering while I’m here, feel free. I’ll bring you some clean clothes when I bring your food.”

He left without waiting for Oikawa’s answer, and he came back less than 15 minutes later with a steaming cup of coffee, a glass of water, an unpeeled orange, a bowl of rice, and something that looked vaguely like overcooked eggs.

Oikawa couldn’t find it in himself to resist, so he ate and drank. Hanamaki had also made good on his promise to bring Oikawa clothes. After having breakfast, Oikawa glanced at Hanamaki who stayed in the room the whole time Oikawa ate.

As Oikawa grabbed the clothes and turned to go to the bathroom, Hanamaki’s voice called out, “I’ll keep the knuckleheads occupied. Feel free to take as long as you want.”

~*~*~*~

Hanamaki appeared in the living room again about an hour later. He managed to convince the stubborn omega to eat, drink, and shower all in the time span of one morning. More than Matsukawa and Iwaizumi had managed to do in the entirety of five days.

“You just had to talk to him, you idiots.”

Matsukawa frowned. “Not like he would have listened to us anyway. We’re alphas. Two against one. Also, we kidnapped him.”

Hanamaki grunted and threw his legs up on his mate. They were stretched out on the couch while Iwaizumi occupied an armchair. He could hear some pipes groan as water ran upstairs, and Iwaizumi purposefully brought his phone out again to check the news.

Nothing. Only Oikawa’s Twitter mentions alerted the world that something was amiss.

It frustrated Iwaizumi that Oikawa’s family was seemingly unconcerned about their son’s disappearance. He couldn’t imagine his own family being nonchalant if he had suddenly disappeared.

Of course, he really shouldn’t be concerned with the omega upstairs anyway.

Who cares if he smells really good to Iwaizumi?

Who cares if Iwaizumi had been putting off soothing hormones since the moment he had smelled Oikawa’s _stress, anxious, worry, apprehension_ and a million other concerning scents?

Who cares that it’s only been five days and Iwaizumi recognizes a hint of compatibility between them, even if he’s only seen Oikawa three times in the past five days?

Who cares?

He does. Way too much.

The pipes stopped groaning, so Iwaizumi guessed the water stopped. Hanamaki looked like he was sleeping, and Matsukawa was playing a game on his phone. Iwaizumi really shouldn’t be thinking about going upstairs to check on the omega. To make sure he wasn’t putting out a distressed scent anymore.

He stayed where he was. If his mom had taught him anything, it was to never overstep another person’s boundaries.

Minutes later, Matsukawa and Iwaizumi were surprised by the addition of Oikawa Tooru to their living room.

~*~*~*~

Oikawa entered cautiously. If these guys really were a part of the O.R.A., it was unlikely they were going to hurt him. In a convoluted way, he trusted Hanamaki. So, Oikawa was taking a chance. The two alphas in the room were intimidating but less so like this.

The tall, dark-haired one was stretched out on the couch with Hanamaki draped over him. Hanamaki was on top with his sock-clad feet resting on the alpha’s chest, and the alpha had a leg bent up to keep Hanamaki from falling to the floor. He had been tapping away at his phone, but as soon as Oikawa entered the room, he looked up.

Even though the taller alpha was intimidating, it was the other alpha Oikawa was more wary of. He was shorter than the other alpha, but his stature was more muscular. Only Bo-kun and Waka-chan had muscles like this alpha, and that made some feeling Oikawa couldn’t describe pull at his chest.

Best to steer clear of that one then.

Oikawa plopped down in the only available chair left in the living room and stared hard at both alphas.

The taller one seemed to recover from his sudden appearance first. “Hey. I’m Matsukawa Issei. Sorry for not telling you anything earlier. Figured you wouldn’t believe us if it came from the two alphas who kidnapped you.”

This seemed to prompt the other alpha to speak. “Iwaizumi Hajime. Do…do you have anything to ask us?”

Oikawa was tempted to roll his eyes. “No, Hanamaki answered most of my questions. I’m bored. Now that I know you two won’t intentionally hurt me, I want to be entertained.”

That surprised a laugh out of Matsukawa. “Shit, yeah. You didn’t even have books in that room upstairs, right? Well, there’s a TV in this room. Books in the room down the hallway. We even have video games! But none that hook up to the Wi-Fi. Can’t let you get access to that.”

Oikawa frowned. He figured as much, but he was still holding out hope for maybe getting his phone back. Looks like it wasn’t possible.

The other alpha – Iwaizumi – spoke up again. “We also have a volleyball net and a sand court outside. It’s not the same as what you’re used to, but it’s better than nothing.”

Oikawa was surprised by that. He had fully accepted that his fate would be getting out of shape while he was kept here; but if they were willing to let him practice, then he wouldn’t argue with them.

“What about a ball?”

Iwaizumi dipped his head in a nod. “Ball too.”

Silence settled over them again when Oikawa decided he would rather practice than sit here any longer.

“Where’s the ball?” He asked as he stood up.

Unfortunately, Iwaizumi was the only one who seemed willing to answer. Oikawa really would rather like to stay away from this alpha.

“It’s in the library. I’ll show you.”

He stood as well, and Oikawa was surprised to see that he was taller than the alpha. It just seemed like Iwaizumi’s presence screamed “out of my way” that Oikawa had assumed he would have been taller.

Hanamaki’s grin from earlier made a lot more sense to Oikawa now.

Oikawa hardly spent any time with the two alphas after they had taken him. When he awoke the first time in the cabin, he felt panicked and tried to escape. When he found that he couldn’t open the bedroom door, he must have sent out a distressed scent because two alphas came barreling in through the door, looking ready to fight off whatever enemy they thought had caused Oikawa to let off a distressing scent.

They had stood dumbfounded in the doorway before looking at each other and muttering, “Oh, right.”

After that, they had both left, leaving the door unlocked, but every time Oikawa emerged from the room to leave, Matsukawa always intercepted him.

That was when Oikawa decided he wasn’t eating, drinking, showering, or even sleeping until the alphas made their move.

When they hadn’t made any such move, it stressed Oikawa out even more. He’d been running on high adrenaline and stress, and he was ready to work that out of his system now.

Following the shorter alpha, Oikawa tuned into what he was saying.

“That’s the downstairs bathroom. Through there is the dining room. This is the room that leads to the outside, there’s a bedroom at the end of the hallway, and this room is the library.” He opened the door to reveal a room filled with books of all sorts, floor to ceiling bookshelves, and two big windows facing the backyard, where Oikawa could see the sand court Iwaizumi was telling him about.

“Here’s the ball.” Iwaizumi lightly tossed it to Oikawa, and Oikawa caught it with ease.

“Thanks.”

Oikawa promptly turned around and left. He went through the room that led to the outside and tossed the volleyball onto the sandy ground. He sat down on the wooden deck that surrounded the back of the house and began stretching. Couldn’t let himself get injured since he was already missing practice.

Once warmed up, he began going through simple tossing drills. Warming up his hands and fingers while making sure to adjust his form for the uneven ground. He hoped he wasn’t here long enough to permanently adjust to the shifting sand. It would be a pain to have to unlearn that and adjust back to solid ground.

He shifted between setting drills, receiving drills, spiking drills, and finally ended with some serves. The loud smack of the ball as his hand connected with it was satisfying, and he probably did more than he should have since he hadn’t eaten anything for a few days.

When it started getting too dark to see, Oikawa was surprised so much time had passed. His stomach growled, making it known that he needed food, and Oikawa sighed as he started walking back to the house, volleyball in hand.

It was unfortunate that his knee gave out as soon as he stepped up onto the deck. He fell back, his butt hitting the ground and his back slamming into the hard dirt ground that surrounded the sandy court. He was lucky his head didn’t hit the ground, but he also knew he made noise on his way down.

It was embarrassing that Iwaizumi was the first one to get to his side. Oikawa felt frustration well up inside of him, and _he would not cry. Absolutely not._

“What the hell happened?” The alpha growled out as he helped Oikawa into a sitting position.

Oikawa was horrified when the hot sting of tears burned his eyes, and he covered his face to hide any tears that might escape.

It was silent as the alpha obviously waited for Oikawa to answer him, but Oikawa was doing no such thing. It was humiliating enough that Oikawa should have thought to ask about his knee brace before beginning practice. To have one of his captors be the one who soothingly rubbed his back in order to calm him – and the fact that Oikawa didn’t want him to stop – made his stubborn side rear its head. He wasn’t saying shit.

“Oi, what the fuck?”

Oikawa thought that was Matsukawa’s voice, but he couldn’t be sure. He knew he was crying now, and he’d be damned if he removed his hands from his face to find out.

It was quiet again as they waited for Oikawa to answer – to do anything – when Hanamaki’s omega scent filtered into Oikawa’s senses.

“Back off you guys. I’ll handle this.”

A moment passed before Oikawa felt Iwaizumi’s hand remove itself from its soothing pattern, and he felt the alpha stand and walk away.

When another moment had passed, Hanamaki’s arm drew Oikawa into his embrace, and Oikawa tried to sniff quietly to get rid of the mucus building in his nose. He also inhaled Hanamaki’s _calming, soothing, it’s okay_ lavender-tinted scent.

No words were spoken, but when they pulled apart, Oikawa felt so much better. He wiped away the last of his tears before saying, “I don’t know that I’m going to be able to walk right now.”

Hanamaki raised an eyebrow. “Did you hurt yourself practicing?”

Oikawa shook his head. “No. It’s my knee. An old sprain, and I forgot to ask if you guys have my knee brace before I started practicing.”

“Ah. So, you can’t put any weight on it?”

“Not to walk up the steps. And no way in hell am I letting anyone carry me up them.” Oikawa cut off Hanamaki’s suggestion before Hanamaki could even voice it.

“I can help you get up on the deck – no carrying you, I promise – but then what are you going to do about sleep tonight? Since you’re being stubborn.”

Oikawa clenched his jaw but smiled serenely. “Iwaizumi mentioned there’s a bedroom downstairs. I can just stay there.”

Hanamaki looked like he was going to say something about that, when Iwaizumi’s voice cut in. “He can stay there, Takahiro. It’s fine.” Oikawa hadn’t even realized the alpha was back.

It was unsettling the way Iwaizumi was looking at Oikawa, so Oikawa decided it was time to stand and escape the alpha’s gaze.

“Alright. If you say so.” Hanamaki stood, and he pulled Oikawa to standing.

They were able to get onto the deck without much hassle, even though Oikawa snapped at Iwaizumi when he tried helping them. Soon enough, Oikawa was on his way to the back bedroom at the end of the hallway, more than ready to take a nap.

His plan was interrupted though when a knock sounded on the door before he even could sit down. He waited a moment, but the door wasn’t opening so Oikawa muttered, “Come in.”

It was Iwaizumi – of course it was – and he had a plate of food in hand. “Dinner.”

Oikawa’s stomach grumbled again, and Oikawa merely sighed. “Thanks.” His tone was barely grateful, and he watched Iwaizumi as the alpha put the food on the nearby desk. When Iwaizumi’s back was turned to Oikawa, Oikawa’s eyes focused on the muscles at play as he walked and set down the plate of food. He wondered what Iwaizumi’s workout routine was before he cleared his thoughts of such nonsense.

Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki were just his captors. He definitely didn’t need himself getting attached to any of them, no matter how nice they were being now. They kidnapped him and were using him and his family to further their own goals. Or the goals of their organization. Whatever. He didn’t need to be getting mixed up with them anymore than he was.

Iwaizumi turned and muttered that he’d be back with some water before stalking out of the room again. Oikawa slowly lowered himself into the chair and began picking at the food on his plate. There was rice and some kind of beef concoction. He didn’t know if he had this kind of food before, but it was surprisingly tasty, if a little spicy.

When Iwaizumi came back into the room, Oikawa had to tease him a little. As Iwaizumi put the glass of water down onto the desk, Oikawa asked him, “How do you know I’m not allergic to the food you’ve been giving me? I could go into anaphylactic shock at any moment, Iwaizumi-chan.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widened, and he whipped his head to look at Oikawa as if he could search out any signs of allergies appearing. Oikawa’s teasing grin caught his attention, however, and he relaxed as he let out a sigh.

“You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

“Only alphas who kidnap unsuspecting, innocent omegas.”

Oikawa watched as Iwaizumi's jaw clenched, and he broke his gaze away from Oikawa’s. “Enjoy your meal.”

Iwaizumi practically stalked out of the room, and he closed the door with a quiet click.

Turning back to his food, Oikawa felt a childish spark of joy lighten his mood at the dark look that appeared on Iwaizumi’s face just now. They may have him under house arrest but that didn’t mean he had to be pleasant about it.

He turned back to the food and water and contemplated how tomorrow was going to go. If it was anything like today, he wouldn’t mind too much. If the other three left him alone to practice, then he wouldn’t have to interact with them as much. The least amount of interaction, the better as far as Oikawa was concerned.

After finishing up dinner, he set the plate, spoon, and empty water glass on the table right next to the door before turning to the bed and nearly collapsing with exhaustion onto its mattress.

The bed was heavenly soft, and Oikawa thought he could lay there forever. It was warm, it smelled divine, and it was just the right amount of comfortable that had Oikawa drifting off to sleep within minutes.

Morning came with the realization that Oikawa hadn’t showered last night before passing out, and he had slept through the whole night even though there were two alphas who kidnapped him in the same house. He cursed himself at his stupidity, but he guessed he pushed himself too hard yesterday in order to make up for the volleyball practices he’s missed. He’d need to take it easy so he wouldn’t fall into a dead sleep in the future.

Snuffling a little as he pulled himself into a sitting position, he was horrified to feel slick oozing between his cheeks. His heat wasn’t due for another month at least, and he had no idea why the fuck he would be producing slick in a situation like this.

Flopping back onto the bed, he bemoaned his physiology and the ease with which his omega side reared its ugly head.

It was then that he noticed the scent clinging to the bedsheets. It was a crisp alpha scent. Something spicy. Something woodsy. A mix between sandalwood and some type of spice? It was something Oikawa couldn’t identify.

It was alluring.

At least now Oikawa knew why his omega had decided it wanted some sexy times in the middle of a stressful situation.

How fucked was that?

Shaking his head, Oikawa pulled himself back up into a sitting position and gingerly stood up, testing out his knee with his weight. He was able to stand on it, and he moved slowly as he started walking toward the bathroom Iwaizumi had pointed out to him yesterday. Hopefully, it had a shower so he could rinse off the slick and sweat.

~*~*~*~

Iwaizumi picked up on the sound of running water, and he went to check out his room, noticing Oikawa wasn’t in it. Iwaizumi’s eyes glanced over at the closed bathroom door and decided he probably had enough time to change into fresh clothes before the omega was done in the shower.

Iwaizumi closed the bedroom door and changed quickly. He saw the plate, spoon, and empty water glass by the door, which he picked up on his way back to the kitchen. He washed the water glass, filled it up with water, and put it back in the bedroom before heading to the library. He had a report that was due in a few days, and he really needed to be working on it.

He opened up his laptop and checked his emails before pulling up his essay. It was about halfway finished, and he figured he’d be able to knock out the rest of it today.

As he worked on his laptop, the hours flew by, and it was lunchtime before he knew it. He stood up and stretched a little before walking out of the library. He stopped abruptly when he saw Oikawa lounging on the living room couch while Hanamaki sat in one of the armchairs. They were watching the news.

Oikawa’s words from yesterday echoed in Iwaizumi’s mind. He knew he shouldn’t let the omega get to him, but Oikawa had a point. He had a right to be angry with the three of them, but Iwaizumi knew he couldn’t let those thoughts overtake him. They were doing this for the greater good.

If only Oikawa’s father cared more about his son. Maybe this ordeal would have been done by now.

Turning back to the kitchen, Iwaizumi started pulling ingredients from the pantry and fridge in order to make some stir fry. He figured they could deal with the frozen mixed vegetables, but he decided to use the remaining beef that he hadn’t cooked in yesterday’s beef masala.

He was concentrating on cutting the beef into the right sizes when a voice from behind him asked what he was doing.

He was lucky he didn’t surprise easily.

“Cooking, what’s it look like?” He already knew that Oikawa was the one behind him. Not because he was very aware of the omega’s presence at any given moment, but because Matsukawa and Hanamaki knew better to disturb him when he was cooking.

Oikawa’s figure came into his peripheral, and he watched as the omega tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Isn’t cooking an omega’s job?”

Iwaizumi scrunched his face in irritation. “Cooking should be everyone’s job. If you eat, you should be able to cook. That’s what my mom taught me and my sister at least.”

“Oh… I guess that makes sense.” Oikawa trailed off as his face turned contemplative.

Iwaizumi didn’t know what was running through the other man’s mind, and he frankly tried not to care enough to keep paying attention to him.

He turned back to cutting the rest of the meat into the right sizes before setting aside the cutting board and turning his attention to the vegetables. He flipped the vegetables to make sure they were coated in the spices he added to the pan.

Sizzling was all that was heard, and Iwaizumi thought Oikawa had left when the omega came into view again. His arms were crossed as he stared at Iwaizumi.

It made Iwaizumi very uncomfortable.

“What?” His voice was probably too harsh, but Oikawa was being rude by just staring at him like that.

“Did you cook yesterday’s dinner?”

“Well it certainly wasn’t Matsukawa or Hanamaki. They could kill someone with how bad they both are in the kitchen.”

He had said that loud enough for Hanamaki to hear, and Hanamaki’s remark “Well at least I’m good in bed!” seemed to startle a laugh out of Oikawa.

“It was good. What was it?”

The abrupt compliment caught him by surprise.

“Beef masala. It’s an Indian dish, kind of like curry but not. I learned it from my mother.” Why was he telling Oikawa this? It’s not like he cared.

A thoughtful hum escaped the omega before he dipped his head in a nod toward the stove. Remembering he still had vegetables cooking, Iwaizumi turned back to the pan and stirred the vegetables.

He didn’t know why the omega could distract him so easily.

He did know. He was just lying to himself. He hadn’t forgotten the pull of compatibility. Of course he hadn’t fucking forgotten. He could feel it right now, alerting him that Oikawa was coming closer.

“What’s this dish called?”

An incredulous look crossed his features as he flicked his gaze toward the omega. “Tell me you’ve had stir fry before.”

Oikawa blinked a few times before shrugging. “It looks different than anything I’ve eaten before. Smells different too.”

Iwaizumi really didn’t know how to respond to that. “I used some different spices, maybe that’s why.”

He stirred the vegetables and beef around some more, waiting for a couple more minutes before taking the pan off of the hot burner and placing it on a cold one. He turned the stove off and dug around in the fridge for the noodles he and Matsukawa had two nights ago. There was enough for maybe three people, so he also added the left-over rice. He heated the noodles first, then the rice, and then called Hanamaki and Matsukawa to come eat.

Oikawa was still in the kitchen with him. “Isn’t your leg hurting?”

The omega shook his head. “Hanamaki gave me my brace to put on. I’m wearing it now.”

Oikawa had long pants on, but there was a bulge of fabric around his knee, so Iwaizumi let it go.

“Help yourself.” Iwaizumi handed a plate off to Oikawa before leaving two more on the table for Hanamaki and Matsukawa to grab. Iwaizumi grabbed a bowl for himself – they only had three plates in this whole entire house – and scooped some rice into the bowl before topping it with the stir fry.

He wandered out to the living room to eat his meal and was surprised when Oikawa followed him out there. He watched the other man set his plate down before lowering himself into the armchair. He straightened his injured leg out and picked up his plate from the table. He tucked into the noodles and stir fry, which reminded Iwaizumi that he should be eating his own dinner instead of staring like a creep at the omega who was just trying to eat.

Iwaizumi really needed to clear his head.

They ate in silence until Hanamaki and Matsukawa joined them.

The first thing Hanamaki said as they sat down was, “Matsukawa, do you think me capable of killing a man?”

Iwaizumi could already tell where this was going, and he rolled his eyes in protest.

“Why, Hanamaki, I do not think it possible for you to even hurt a fly, let alone murder a human.”

An indignant huff sounded from Hanamaki. “Thank you, Matsukawa. Iwaizumi insulted the both of us earlier. He dared to say that my cooking could kill a man. I beg to differ.”

A snort sounded from Oikawa again, and the three looked at him in interest.

Oikawa’s face was heating under the attention, but he straightened himself up before mimicking Hanamaki’s voice. “Well, at least you’re good in bed!”

Matsukawa was the one to snort that time, and it had the three dissolving in laughter. Iwaizumi was surrounded by idiots, but it did bring a smile to his lips. To think Oikawa wasn’t actually friends with them…Okay. That was probably going down a dangerous slope, and Iwaizumi needed to stay far away from that line of thinking.

Matsukawa’s grin turned suspicious when the laughter died down. “Oh yes, Hanamaki, seduce me with your bad cooking and your useless dolphin facts.”

A gasp left Hanamaki’s lips. “Hey! The world needs to know dolphins are evil creatures! If you’re going to like a sea creature, you should like octopi. Or seals! Dolphins, though…they’re the fucked-up ones.”

Matsukawa grabbed his chest in mockery. “Yes, Hanamaki, keep seducing me with your knowledge.”

Oikawa hummed inquisitively at the same time, and both just egged on Hanamaki’s spiraling rant. He started off on all of the useless dolphin facts he knew, and before Iwaizumi knew it, Oikawa was gasping in horror at all the exploits dolphins got up to.

“They do not gangrape!”

“THEY DO! IT’S FUCKED UP, ISN’T IT!?” The two omegas were dissolving into horrified gasps and shouting, and Iwaizumi was done eating so he felt it was best he did the dishes.

Matsukawa joined him shortly. Iwaizumi washed while Matsukawa dried and put them away.

“They’re energetic, aren’t they?”

Matsukawa merely grunted in reply as they heard another horrified gasp from Oikawa.

“He’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot.”

Iwaizumi couldn’t help the short bark of laughter that statement pulled from his lips. He had known Matsukawa since high school, and he was happy to see his friend in love and with his mate. He kind of envied Matsukawa and Hanamaki’s easy relationship. The two had gotten together after some unpleasant circumstances, but they were able to be each other’s support now that they both were in a better place. If only Matsukawa were able to get his sister back. Then, maybe, they’d be able to get married and live happily ever after.

If that was a thing.

Matsukawa bumped Iwaizumi’s arm, clearing his thoughts from spacing out. “Yeah?”

The other alpha sighed quietly. “You like him, huh?”

Iwaizumi frowned. “I think we’re compatible. It’s nothing more.”

Matsukawa opened his mouth to say something more, probably something stupid, when Hanamaki bounded up to his other side. “Hey, do you guys care if we watch a movie? I think Oikawa is finally starting to relax a little bit more.”

Neither one protested, and Hanamaki was out of the kitchen within seconds.

Iwaizumi finished up washing, and he started helping out Matsukawa with drying.

When they were done, they found the two omegas watching “Finding Nemo”. They were exclaiming that the sharks were smart because they didn’t like dolphins. Iwaizumi had zero interest in it, so he wandered back into the library to work on some more papers.

He lost track of time quickly, and hours had passed by the time Matsukawa knocked on the door and entered the room. “Hey, Hanamaki volunteered to make pizza, but I decided to get you before he could do any real damage.”

Iwaizumi sighed, but he saved what he was working on before turning off his laptop and following Matsukawa back to the kitchen.

They had a pre-made pizza crust, which Hanamaki was spreading tomato sauce over liberally, on the counter. There also sat a bag of shredded mozzarella, pepperoni slices, a whole onion, a whole tomato, and…was that a banana and chocolate sauce?

Frowning, Iwaizumi came up behind Hanamaki and took the spoon from his hand. Hanamaki just shot him a smirk, but he let Iwaizumi take over.

“Out.”

Hanamaki snapped a salute and left with Matsukawa following behind. Iwaizumi turned back to the mess that was now the kitchen and began chopping half of the onion so it was diced, spreading it out on the pizza sauce, putting on the shredded cheese, placing the pepperoni, and then putting everything away. As an afterthought, he pulled out a green pepper, diced that, and put it on top as well.

He put the pizza in the oven to cook and made his way out to the living room. “Where’s Oikawa?”

The omega wasn’t in sight, and Iwaizumi just assumed he was still lounging on the couch. Guess it made sense that he wasn’t.

“I think he’s outside practicing.”

Iwaizumi frowned at this. Earlier, Oikawa told him his knee was fine, but the way he stretched it out during lunch…

Iwaizumi turned to go out back, and he found Oikawa limping toward the ball.

An irritated growl arose, though exactly why that happened, Iwaizumi couldn’t say.

“Oi, stop that.”

Oikawa’s head had snapped toward him when he growled, but he did stop limping toward the ball.

“Why aren’t you resting? It’s obvious your knee is still hurt from overdoing it yesterday. You should have it up and iced.”

A look crossed over Oikawa’s features; one Iwaizumi couldn’t decipher. He turned away to keep walking toward the ball.

Iwaizumi stalked over to him and put his hand out in front of Oikawa. Oikawa lurched to a stop so Iwaizumi didn’t touch him. He waited until Oikawa turned to face him before pointing back to the house. “Dinner’s going to be ready in ten minutes. It’s time to stop anyway. Go back inside before we have a repeat of yesterday.”

Blood rushed to Oikawa’s face at that statement, and irritation laced his voice as he replied, “Well, maybe if someone hadn’t kidnapped me, I wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place!”

The alpha held back a sigh and just continued pointing to the house until the stubborn omega gave up his pursuit of the ball to hobble back inside.

Iwaizumi grabbed the volleyball, and he had half a mind to hide it, but he knew that would be cruel. He’d keep an eye on Oikawa to make sure he didn’t overdo it. He didn’t want anything to happen to Oikawa, and Iwaizumi ignored why he felt the way that he did.

He turned back inside and found that Matsukawa pulled the pizza from the oven. It was a little undercooked, but Iwaizumi decided to let it go. Chewy bread wasn’t going to kill them. It was done enough anyway.

Matsukawa served the plates to everyone, and they each grabbed their own slice. While Hanamaki, Matsukawa, and Oikawa went to the living room to eat, Iwaizumi elected to stay in the kitchen with his bowl of pizza and check his phone.

Still no news about Oikawa’s kidnapping. He thought someone mildly high profile, like Oikawa Tooru, would at least make the news. He wondered if maybe his father was trying to keep it under wraps for right now. Although, if that was the case, Iwaizumi would think his family would have told his volleyball teammates to stop posting on Twitter about Oikawa being missing.

Something was going on, and Iwaizumi didn’t like it.

~*~*~*~

Oikawa was annoyed that Iwaizumi was so good at cooking. Seriously, how come an alpha was so skilled at an omega’s job?

Of course, Iwaizumi’s words from yesterday echoed in his mind. It should be everyone’s job to cook. If someone has to eat, that someone should have to learn how to cook. It made sense, because what if you were the only person alive? Or what if you were abandoned on a deserted island? You’d have to learn to fend for yourself, and one of the things that would be helpful to know would be how to cook.

Oikawa didn’t know how to cook.

He wished Hanamaki knew how to cook so that he could take lessons from him. Did Oikawa want to learn how to cook, though? Did he want Iwaizumi to teach him how to cook? Why is he thinking of these things right now? Should he be thinking of these things right now? What else would he think about besides that spicy sandalwood smell from earlier that had to be Iwaizumi’s scent, because Oikawa figured out there were only three bedrooms in this whole house, and his bedroom was upstairs, Matsukawa and Hanamaki had the other bedroom upstairs, so that left Iwaizumi’s bedroom down here, and oh God Oikawa had slept in Iwaizumi’s bed, and his omega was attracted to Iwaizumi’s alpha scent, and was this Stockholm Syndrome, what was going on?

Deep breaths, Tooru. Calm down.

He inhaled for a count of 4 before slowly releasing on a count of 4. He repeated this two, three, four times before he was able to think clearly again.

So, what if he was attracted to Iwaizumi’s scent? It wasn’t the end of the world. Iwaizumi could actually be nice when he wasn’t frowning. He cooked well, and Oikawa had glimpsed him working in the library room on his laptop, which surely meant something. He even let Oikawa stay in his bedroom when Oikawa couldn’t walk upstairs and refused to let anyone carry him.

Something stirred in the back of Oikawa’s mind, but he squashed down any good feelings he was developing toward the three kidnappers. Sure, they were being nice to him, but that could be just because his father hadn’t voted yet. He could change his mind on the vote if Oikawa was returned injured. If he even knew about Oikawa’s kidnapping at all...

Oikawa suddenly wished he knew more about the situation. The news earlier hadn’t mentioned anything about a kidnapping, and he didn’t have access to Wi-Fi, so he didn’t know if anyone has even noticed his absence.

He would like to think his teammates would notice. Shou-chan, Bo-kun, and Waka-chan were his closest teammates, although Shou-chan always acted like Oikawa was some kind of deity, and Waka-chan had been his rival a mere year ago. Bo-kun, though, he would definitely notice if Oikawa wasn’t answering his phone calls. They always practiced together, and Bo-kun would have informed his other teammates that Oikawa was missing. Surely, his teammates would be looking for him.

Feeling slightly better as the hopelessness of his situation lessened, Oikawa felt the itch to practice again. Thinking of Bo-kun was like a mental trigger. It put him in the mindset to play volleyball. It might have just been the other’s exuberance for the sport, but if Oikawa was honest with himself, he was always ready to play.

Too bad that alpha deemed him unfit to play, like he was a child. Deciding that he didn’t really give a rat’s ass one way or another, Oikawa stood up to put his empty plate in the sink. He brushed by Iwaizumi in the kitchen then turned to grab the volleyball, but he couldn’t find where he had put it yesterday. He suddenly remembered that the alpha had been the one to pick up the ball earlier, and who knows where he put it.

Oikawa would rather look for it himself, but after looking in the bedroom, the bathroom, the dining room, the library, the room that led to the outside, outside, and glancing in the living room and kitchen, he still hadn’t found it.

Gritting his teeth, Oikawa approached Iwaizumi, who was still in the kitchen. He just put away the last of the dishes when Oikawa sidled up to him.

In a voice dripping of false honey, he asked, “Ne, Iwaizumi-san, where did the volleyball go?”

Iwaizumi turned irritated eyes on him. “I put it away. You can stand to not practice the rest of today, so go sit on the couch or in bed with your leg up.”

Oikawa couldn’t help but let a growl escape. An alpha telling him what to do always raised Oikawa’s hackles, and it felt like the room dropped twenty degrees from the hostile scent he threw out. “Don’t tell me what to do. You’re not my mate; you’re not my friend. You’re just some alpha who kidnapped me in order to use me for his own gain. Where’s the fucking volleyball?”

Surprise laced Iwaizumi’s face, but the set of his jaw told Oikawa that he wouldn’t be telling him where the volleyball was any time soon.

“Quit acting like such a brat. You’re going to injure yourself if you keep it up the way you did yesterday. You need to rest, and I will not apologize for telling you what you should already know and what you should already be doing. If you’re going to keep acting like a child, you won’t see that volleyball the whole rest of the time you’re here.”

Another snarl ripped from Oikawa’s throat as his irritation heightened. Yeah, so what if he knew he should be resting his leg? So what if he knew he needed to go easy after collapsing like he had yesterday? So what if he knew better? “Quit acting like you’re such a caring, considerate alpha! I’ll damn well practice whenever the hell I want to, so eat shit.”

Oikawa abruptly turned before Iwaizumi could reply and stomped out of the kitchen. He’d find the fucking volleyball on his own.

The only thing preventing him from executing his poorly thought out plan was Hanamaki appearing in the hallway in front of him. “Hey.”

Oikawa let out a small, irritated growl, but he forced himself to be pleasant to Hanamaki. He was the only one who actually went out of his way to talk to Oikawa, and Oikawa’s irritation was solely saved for that alpha in the kitchen.

Regardless, his “What?” came out as a snap.

“Uh, I don’t mean to sound suggestive or anything, but I think you and I need to have a talk.”

Oikawa raised an eyebrow, but he followed Hanamaki out to the room that led to the outside. They didn’t go outside, but rather sat on the bench and chair that were occupying that room.

Hanamaki started the conversation once they were both seated. “Last year, right before I was attacked, I met Issei…er…Matsukawa.”

Oikawa, not really understanding where Hanamaki was going with this, stayed silent.

“We actually met because we were on the same volleyball team. Our school had made a new rule to keep up with the current times that the segregation of sports teams wasn’t applicable anymore. Omegas, alphas, and betas were all to be on the same team. I was playing on an omega-only team before, but when we merged with the alpha and beta team, it went about as smoothly as you would think it would go. Which is to say, it didn’t go smoothly at all.”

Hanamaki drew in a deep breath before continuing. “I was one of three omegas who decided to keep playing volleyball. The alphas and betas on the team were mean cusses to all of us, and many omegas decided to quit. All that was left were me, Yahaba-san, and Noya-san. Noya-san and Yahaba-san were already mated to alpha members on the volleyball team. They weren’t ever really left by themselves.

“Me, though, I had to walk home or to school after practice by myself a lot. Of course, Matsukawa tried to make sure that didn’t happen often. He realized we were compatible before I did, and he showed it by being a little overprotective. We were friends, and that lessened some of the bullying, but not all of it.

“One morning he had to leave practice early in order to get to an early morning exam. I was left to walk to class by myself. Two of my teammates, one an alpha and one a beta, decided to take the opportunity to rough me up a bit.”

Oikawa gulped, already seeing where this was going.

“You probably heard about it, because it became a national headliner. Hajime…err…Iwaizumi was the one who stepped in to stop them. I don’t know how long they had been beating on me before Iwaizumi stopped them, but he’d been the one to get me and called for an ambulance. He stayed with me at the hospital until Matsukawa came. Over the months I had to recover, I got to know Iwaizumi and Matsukawa more. They actually played volleyball in high school together, and the three of us became good friends.

“During those months, sports organizations were trying to use my attack as an excuse to segregate the teams again. Since my attackers were a part of the volleyball team, influential alphas tried to say that it was a direct act of aggression from being forced to integrate and not just the alpha and the beta acting independently to be fucking assholes.

“That’s when the O.R.A. approached me. I still remember they caught me as I was coming out of physical therapy. I had just taken my first steps on my own after 3 months of excruciating work, and I was so happy until I saw the news while waiting for Matsukawa to pick me up. I was so incredulous that some alpha asshole was trying to write my own story for me. That’s when the O.R.A. representative walked up to me and Matsukawa as he was pushing me out of the rehabilitation building. I didn’t even feel surprised or anything. I just felt numb.

“I mean, the O.R.A. is huge, and they were approaching _me_ of all people. I was surprised later, but at that time, I just wanted to get revenge on the alpha and beta and the sports organizations trying to tell my story without even consulting me. The O.R.A. asked me to come forward with my story, and I accepted.”

Here, Hanamaki looked directly into Oikawa’s eyes.

“I learned that the reason behind getting rid of the separation between sports teams was you, Oikawa. You were just scouted for Japan’s national league volleyball team, and there was talk that you would be playing in the next Olympics. All of a sudden, omegas everywhere demanded an equal opportunity to play amongst alphas and betas, and that change happened.

“You’re an inspiration to so many people, Oikawa-san, me included. So, when the O.R.A. approached me yet again with an insane plan to kidnap you in order to swing your father’s vote on the Omega Housing Notion, I couldn’t say no. I didn’t think it was a good idea, but I also didn’t really trust anyone else with it either.”

Oikawa’s eyes were wide, and he knew there were tears streaming down his face. He didn’t completely understand the reasons behind Hanamaki’s decision, but he could kind of see where he was coming from. “Hana…Makki…I…I don’t know what to say.”

Hanamaki smiled kindly at him and stood up to sit next to him on the bench. He pulled Oikawa into a hug, tucking Oikawa’s nose into his neck to breathe in his soothing omega scent. “That’s alright. I just wanted you to understand where I was coming from. Where Matsukawa and Iwaizumi are coming from. Yes, you’re technically our prisoner, but I hope that you will come to see that we didn’t want to have to do this. We wanted to find another way, but the O.R.A. couldn’t come up with another one.”

Oikawa breathed in Hanamaki’s scent for a minute more before pulling back and wiping his eyes. “Thank you for telling me. I know you guys won’t hurt me. I…I can get a little hot-headed at times, especially when an alpha tries to order me around. My father, he isn’t exactly accepting of omegas, even his own son. Maybe I’ll explain that to you all later though.”

Hanamaki nodded, and then he pulled Oikawa to standing. “Do you feel up to a movie, or would you rather go to sleep after this?”

Oikawa thought for a moment before deciding it best to retire for the night. He had a lot to think over, and he said goodnight to Hanamaki.

When he tried to go upstairs, though, Iwaizumi caught him. “Oi, you should probably sleep down here again.”

Oikawa’s jaw tightened, but he reminded himself that Iwaizumi obviously wasn’t a bad guy. Not after hearing Hanamaki’s story.

“Let me try to go upstairs first, and if I can’t do it, I’ll concede.”

That brought the alpha up short, and Oikawa smiled to himself. He had to admit that he probably couldn’t make it all the way up the stairs without help. He still wasn’t going to allow anyone to help him upstairs, so he turned and hobbled back down the five steps he had managed to climb before waving Iwaizumi off and telling him goodnight.

After brushing his teeth, using the bathroom, and washing his face, he tucked himself back into Iwaizumi’s bed, half-heartedly hating that he was calmed by the scent that still clung to the pillowcase as he fell back asleep.

In the morning, the volleyball appeared, sitting on the dining room table. Iwaizumi was also sitting there, with his arms crossed, and a frown upon his face.

Oikawa couldn’t help himself. “Ne, Iwa-chan, you’re going to get frown lines if you keep frowning so much.”

A splutter came before Iwaizumi’s reply. “What the fuck?”

Oikawa could only smile as he sat down across from him and slowly took the volleyball. “What? You don’t like nicknames, Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi frowned even more, if that were possible. “Not stupid ones like that.”

Oikawa threw a pout at the alpha. “Iwa-chan, don’t be mean.”

Iwaizumi looked as if he were debating something with himself before he decided upon asking, “What’s with the 180 in attitude?”

The omega merely shrugged. “Makki-chan and I had a long, heartfelt conversation last night. There were tears. Tears, I tell you!”

The horrified look on Iwaizumi’s face causes Oikawa to snort with laughter. Fuck, he was kind of cute when he wasn’t frowning all the time.

“Aww, Iwa-chan, don’t be horrified that you weren’t there to comfort me. Next time, I’ll make sure you’re the one to hug me close and dry my tears.”

Honestly, Oikawa wasn’t sure how expressive Iwaizumi could be, considering Iwaizumi was starting to surprise Oikawa with just how expressive he was being.

“Don’t be weird! Sh…Shittykawa!”

A horrified gasp left Oikawa’s mouth, but he couldn’t help the laugh that escaped right after. “Shittykawa? How long did it take you to think of that one?”

Another splutter was heard from Iwaizumi, and Oikawa laughed even harder.

“Shut up, Assikawa!”

“Ahh, Iwa-chan, if you’re going to give me a nickname, make it a cute one at least!”

Iwaizumi shut his mouth, but there was a distinct blush tinging his cheeks red, and Oikawa wondered if this was what Iwaizumi would look like when he was exerting himself.

What the fuck?

Oikawa mentally sighed. He realized his omega was attracted to Iwaizumi’s alpha, the slick from this morning and yesterday morning still fresh in his mind, but he was starting to wonder if it wasn’t just Iwaizumi’s muscles and scent that Oikawa was interested in. A thread of compatibility maybe?

Before he could ponder that for a longer period of time, Iwaizumi interrupted Oikawa’s fun.

“Oi, Trashykawa, just because I gave you that volleyball back, that doesn’t mean you can overwork yourself into the ground again. I’m sorry for telling you what to do yesterday… I just didn’t want to see you run yourself into the ground. You have to be in top shape for when you return to your team, and for that to happen you need to practice, but you also need to rest and heal.”

It looked like Iwaizumi was going to say more, so Oikawa waited while the alpha thought.

“I’m in school right now for sports medicine. You’re probably wondering how the hell I’m able to not be there for days at a time. All of my lectures are online, but I need to be at school tomorrow. So, I’m leaving tomorrow morning, and you’ll be left alone with Hanamaki and Matsukawa. I left some pre-cooked meals so you guys won’t starve; all you’ll have to do is heat them up. I…I really am sorry for how I treated you yesterday.” Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa as he said this last part, and then he looked down, as if he couldn’t hold Oikawa’s eyes for very long.

Oikawa looked down as well. He didn’t understand why the sudden shift in Iwaizumi’s attitude from last night to right now, but he decided that he shouldn’t question it. “Thank you for apologizing. I…I said some mean things yesterday as well. While they were true, I understand the reasons behind this whole situation. I…I even support this in some twisted way. The Omega Housing Notion will be doing a lot of good if it were to get passed. I just don’t know if my dad would hold up his end of the bargain if you were to return me before the vote went through.”

Iwaizumi looked back up at Oikawa, and Oikawa nodded.

“He’s a tricky bastard. Where do you think I learned it from?”

A short bark of laughter escaped Iwaizumi at that, and it made Oikawa smile.

“So, if I were you, I would tell the O.R.A. to keep me until the votes go through and the notion passes. If my father doesn’t negotiate with the O.R.A., threaten him that I will spill his dirty secrets to the world. That would probably be a more effective motivator.”

Iwaizumi slowly processed this, but he nodded in thanks. “I’ll be sure to tell them that. I’ll be back by this weekend…is there anything you need that you don’t have right now?”

Oikawa wanted a lot of things, but he figured he shouldn’t overwhelm Iwaizumi with this tentative trust just starting to form between them. “I still can’t have access to Wi-Fi? Even if I promise not to post anything on social media?”

Iwaizumi frowned and looked down again. “I’m sorry, but we can’t risk it.”

Oikawa sighed. He figured as much. “Then, can you bring me some Omega Trace Suppressants? The blue box. Oh! and some milk bread?” Iwaizumi quirked an eyebrow at that, but Oikawa simply shrugged. “And some shoes made for beach volleyball. The sand gets too hot during the afternoon to play without shoes on. I’m 29cm.”

Iwaizumi sighed, but he nodded. “Don’t complain if they’re uncomfortable.”

Oikawa simply smiled, and ‘thanked Iwa-chan for being so nice to him now!’

Iwaizumi waved him off and told him to go eat breakfast.

Oikawa complied, feeling just a little bit lighter.

~*~*~*~

Iwaizumi really hoped these shoes would work for playing on a sandy court. He didn’t know the first thing about beach volleyball, but he figured they would work for regular volleyball, so why wouldn’t they work for beach volleyball?

Then, he realized he was obsessing too much over fucking shoes, and he realized he was kind of fucked if he was already worrying over Oikawa’s opinion.

Alphas had very distinct characteristics when they were interested in an omega, and one of the signs was caring too much about the omega’s opinion, especially about gifts.

What the fuck, this wasn’t a gift.

In a twist of mild rebellion, he bought the shoes, three different types of milk bread, a giant pack of Omega Trace Suppressants in a blue box, and got in his car to drive the rest of the way back to the cabin. He really needed to stop thinking so much.

He met with two members of the O.R.A. early yesterday to relay Oikawa’s message about his father, so their plans changed to keep Oikawa until after the vote went through, which was two weeks away. Iwaizumi hoped being out of practice for nearly a month wouldn’t prevent Oikawa from staying on the national team.

As he pulled up to the cabin, Iwaizumi hoped that Oikawa would take the news in stride. As he walked through the front door, however, he realized he had more pressing matters to attend to. The living room was in disarray, the kitchen was a mess, and everything in the house seemed to be out of order as he looked for the trio.

He found them outside, playing volleyball, and arguing like a bunch of five-year-olds.

Matsukawa was crying, of all things, while Oikawa and Hanamaki seemed to be arguing about something.

For fuck’s sake, he had been gone for _four days_. Four days!

“Oi! What the fuck!”

All sound seemed to stop at once as they all turned to look at him at the same time. Matsukawa had stopped crying – so he was faking it – and Hanamaki and Oikawa put on innocent faces.

Iwaizumi quirked an eyebrow, and Matsukawa rushed over to him first. “Thank God you’re back, Iwaizumi! These two have been so mean to me. Ganging up on me, and –”

“Bullshit, Issei. What’s really going on?”

Laughter escaped from the three of them, and Hanamaki sidled up to his mate and threw an arm around his shoulders.

“We were just discussing which position was the best position in volleyball.”

Iwaizumi just raised his eyebrow again. “And the house?”

“Hm?” Hanamaki hummed. “Oh, it’s been like that since you left.”

At Iwaizumi’s incredulous look, the trio burst into laughter again.

This time, Oikawa sidled up to Iwaizumi. “Ah, Iwa-chan! Don’t look so horrified! We just missed you!”

Oikawa slung his arms around Iwaizumi’s shoulders, but Iwaizumi didn’t have the heart to throw him off. “Quit acting fake. It pisses me off.”

The words were out before Iwaizumi could think of the repercussions, but luckily Oikawa didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he just threw a pouty face at Iwaizumi before letting him go. “Ah! You brought milk bread!” Oikawa snatched the bag Iwaizumi was still carrying out of his hands, and proceeded to take one of the packages out. He opened it up and offered some to the other three, but when they refused, he just shrugged and started munching on it.

Iwaizumi did not think that was cute. Absolutely not.

Deciding it was best to go back inside, he turned and went back into the house. He knew he would probably be the one to have to clean up this mess, so he started in the kitchen.

How the hell they had made everything so messy, it was hard to know.

Knowing Hanamaki and Matsukawa, it was probably them trying to cook. He couldn’t say much for Oikawa, although by his line of questioning about Iwaizumi knowing how to cook, Iwaizumi couldn’t help but think that Oikawa might not know how to cook either.

Seeing as the other three hadn’t come inside yet, Iwaizumi pulled up his music app and started playing the world’s top 100 hits. He didn’t care for specific types of music; he just enjoyed the beats.

He swayed to the rhythm of different songs as he cleaned the kitchen, dining room, and living room. He peeked into the library, but it was in order. Downstairs bathroom too. He straightened up the room that led to the outside, then stared hard at the door leading to his bedroom. To Oikawa’s bedroom. Whatever.

Figuring he may as well get it over with, he marched down the hallway and found that it was spotless. Even his scent had faded from the room. Frowning, because he’d only been gone a few days, he walked inside the room and sniffed around. It didn’t smell like his bedroom anymore. It smelled like cleaning product and air freshener. It probably _was_ cleaning product and air freshener. His bed was made with new sheets, and Oikawa really didn’t have to do this. Iwaizumi considered for a second that it was Hanamaki or Matsukawa, but he knew better. They wouldn’t have deep scrubbed every surface. Matsukawa would know better than to mess with another alpha’s scent markings, and Hanamaki didn’t have any reason to clean Iwaizumi’s room.

That left Oikawa.

Iwaizumi was curious why Oikawa felt like he had to clean the room, unless the omega was uncomfortable with Iwaizumi coming back here. Iwaizumi figured that could be the reason. If Oikawa was sleeping in the room upstairs again, he might have cleaned so Iwaizumi couldn’t pick up on Oikawa’s scent.

Omegas scents were more subtle than alphas. Alphas could pick up on other alphas scents easily but had a harder time picking up on omegas. Of course, omegas had a better sense of smell than alphas did, so they could pick up on individual scents easier. But they also had subtler scents. Unless the alpha was pressed against the omega or was in an omega’s den, alphas wouldn’t be able to discern an omega’s scent. Maybe Oikawa didn’t want Iwaizumi to know what he smelled like.

Iwaizumi told his alpha to shove it when he felt a pang of loss. He didn’t know what Oikawa’s scent was, and he should respect Oikawa’s decision to get rid of his scent where he didn’t want it. Iwaizumi turned from the room to leave, and stopped short when he came face-to-face with Oikawa in the doorway.

“Uh…” Iwaizumi had no idea how he was going to finish that sentence, but luckily, Oikawa cut him off.

“As an apology for acting like a dick, I cleaned your room. I can walk up the stairs fine now that I’ve been wearing my brace and taking it easy.” Oikawa smiled sweetly at Iwaizumi, but he could still tell the smile on his face wasn’t quite real. “Thank you for lending me your room.”

Iwaizumi dipped his head in a slow nod. “It was no problem. Thank you for cleaning it.” Oikawa smiled his too sweet smile again, and before Iwaizumi could stop, the words were out of his mouth, “You do know that you’re not supposed to scrub an alpha’s scent markings away though, right?”

Oikawa raised an eyebrow and frowned slightly. “Huh?”

Iwaizumi really needed to learn when to shut up. “Yeah, the spots where my scent was thicker, like on the corners and edges of things, those were my scent markers. It’s an alphas way of claiming territory. If you scrub them off when you clean, it’s like you’re trying to erase an alpha’s territory…or challenge them.” Iwaizumi didn’t know what the smile he flashed at Oikawa looked like; all he did know was the Oikawa’s eyes flashed with something that made Iwaizumi want to take a _bite_.

Oikawa stuttered something before turning and walking out of the room. Iwaizumi was tempted to follow, but he held himself back. He needed to reclaim his territory before he chased after the stubborn omega.

~*~*~*~

Oikawa’s heart was pounding as he walked away from Iwaizumi. The smile that Iwaizumi had flashed him just now…it had been absolutely predatory. A look of hunger, a flash of a challenge, and something more that caused Oikawa’s stomach to flip flop. He really didn’t need this right now.

He walked back into the living room and found that Hanamaki was watching “Spirited Away”.

He sat himself down on one of the armchairs and kicked a leg over the side of it. He supposed it wasn’t very polite, but it was only the two of them in the living room, and Hanamaki didn’t seem to care all that much.

“You mentioned that Mattsu noticed you were compatible before you knew, right Makki?”

Hanamaki hummed an affirmative response.

“So, what did you do when you realized that you were both compatible?”

Hanamaki paused the movie and turned to Oikawa.

“Is something wrong?”

Hanamaki shook his head. “No, no. Just wondering why you’re wondering.”

Oikawa frowned. He could tell Hanamaki he thought that he and Iwaizumi were compatible, but Oikawa didn’t know if he wanted to do anything about it. Should he try to pursue Iwaizumi? But, of course, these were things he guessed he could just ask Hanamaki about.

“Iwaizumi and I are…at least, I think we are compatible.”

Hanamaki’s eyes widened but he nodded slowly. “You, uh, you think you are? Or?”

Oikawa sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m betting that we are.”

Hanamaki nodded carefully. “I didn’t realize Matsukawa was compatible with me until after I had been attacked. When I asked my doctor about it, she mentioned that it was common for omegas not to notice until after alphas. Something about our instincts and only seeking out compatible alphas when they would be beneficial to us as mates and not a threat to us or any future children.

“Anyway,” Hanamaki continued, “I realized it when I was learning how to walk again. Matsukawa had been taking me to my therapy sessions regularly, and he would always scent mark me – in a friendly manner mind you – before dropping me off. I think it had something to do with lessening my chances of getting unwanted alpha attention. He was drawing his hand away when I realized how much I didn’t want him to.”

Hanamaki’s expression was unbelievably soft. Something Oikawa hadn’t seen on the other man before. “You really love him, huh?”

Hanamaki didn’t deny it. “I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met him.”

Silence followed that statement, because Oikawa didn’t know what else to say. It was obvious the two were together now, and Oikawa realized his situation was very different from Hanamaki’s. Hanamaki’s situation reflected the strength he had to not give up and the trust he held in Matsukawa to not let him down. Oikawa’s own situation was something he was still trying to figure out. He knew that any trust between him and Iwaizumi would be a long time coming, if it came at all. Oikawa wasn’t sure how he was going to move forward. He didn’t know if he was going to move forward at all.

So, he reached across to the couch and unpaused the movie. Hanamaki’s attention went right back to it, and Oikawa breathed a sigh of relief. Left alone with his thoughts, he began to think about his own future.

Volleyball, for one, had a big part in it. He was going to get back to his team and hit the ground running. He will be the first male omega to play in an Olympic male volleyball team consisting of alphas and betas. He didn’t know if his life held any room for a potential relationship. Especially because that relationship was going to be as convoluted as it already was. There were so many issues between him and Iwaizumi that Oikawa didn’t even know where to start.

Yet, when Iwaizumi came in a few minutes later with some food that he handed to the two omegas, Oikawa couldn’t tear his attention away from the alpha. He was hyper-aware of where Iwaizumi was and what he was doing the entire time the alpha was in the room. When he left, Oikawa was able to turn back to the movie and to his lunch, but he couldn’t forget the longing he felt when Iwaizumi hadn’t brushed against Oikawa at all.

It was frustrating.

It was surprising.

It was something he pushed away to deal with later.

~*~*~*~

Iwaizumi felt Oikawa’s eyes on him before he realized the omega was in the kitchen. It was an odd feeling, to know that they were compatible and to have his alpha perk up whenever the omega was nearby.

Oikawa’s voice cut into his train of thought moments later. “What are you making?”

Iwaizumi looked up from his cutting board. Honestly, he was lucky his alpha had given him a heads up because Oikawa was going to make him cut himself on accident.

“Come here.”

Oikawa obediently came closer, and Iwaizumi could feel the heat of him. He was so close. “I’m chopping up onion and garlic to make some curry. Do you want to learn how?”

Iwaizumi remembered Oikawa’s questions from before, and he was curious to see if Oikawa wanted to learn how to cook.

“Um, I won’t mess it up?”

Iwaizumi shook his head. “Nah. Go wash your hands.” When Oikawa came back with clean hands, Iwaizumi said, “Here, switch me places.” Iwaizumi set down the knife and swapped spots with Oikawa. Feeling bold, Iwaizumi hooked his chin over Oikawa’s shoulder as he instructed him to pick up the knife. Iwaizumi noticed that he couldn’t detect Oikawa’s scent over the scent of onions and garlic.

Oikawa squawked and made a comment about personal space, but he didn’t push Iwaizumi away, so he stayed where he was.

Iwaizumi covered Oikawa’s hands and showed him how to properly hold the knife, “You want your thumb and forefinger to grip here, not on the handle. This allows for more precision when you’re cutting.”

Then, he guided Oikawa’s left hand on how to properly hold the onion for the cuts that Iwaizumi wanted. “Grip it tighter. If it’s too loose, that’s just going to make the onion go everywhere.”

Still holding onto the tops of Oikawa’s hands, he brought them together. “You’ll want to move your right wrist up and down as you cut the onion, like this.” He made Oikawa’s hand move and mimicked the motion, which Oikawa copied as he started cutting the onion. “There you go. Nice job, Oikawa.”

A shiver ran up Oikawa’s spine, vibrating through Iwaizumi’s chest. Oikawa was really warm, but something wasn’t quite right. Iwaizumi stilled the omega’s movements. “You okay?”

Oikawa nodded and sniffed, and Iwaizumi’s eyes widened. Shit, he had overstepped his boundaries, hadn’t he?

Iwaizumi pulled away as Oikawa put down the knife and wiped his eyes using his long shirt sleeve. “Stupid, Iwa-chan. Making me cut onions. Don’t you know they make everyone cry?”

Relief flooded through Iwaizumi. Of course. The onions. That’s why he was crying.

“S…sorry, Oikawa. I can let you cut something else if that would be better. I’ll finish cutting up the onions myself.”

Another sniffle and Oikawa nodded. He stepped out of the way and went to the sink to wash his hands again, and Iwaizumi quickly finished the chopping job. When he turned around again, Oikawa was nowhere to be seen.

~*~*~*~

“Makki, I’m so dumb!” Iwaizumi was gone again for a couple of days, which meant Oikawa could vent about him all he wanted.

“Do tell, Oikawa.” Mattsu intoned, and Oikawa squeaked.

“DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE BOTH NAKED UNDER THERE!” It was Oikawa’s own fault for barging into Hanamaki and Matsukawa’s room, but he thought Matsukawa already left for his morning run. He hadn’t expected them both to still be in bed.

Hanamaki grunted as he sat up, and the covers fell away to reveal he was wearing a shirt. “Oi, why are you in here so early?”

Oikawa sighed. He was a perpetual morning person. Hanamaki was not. “It’s like 10am! I waited as long as I could!”

Hanamaki let out a sigh, but he gestured for Oikawa to sit on the available chair. Matsukawa also sat up, but he was only wearing pants. Oikawa shrieked again about his virgin eyes, which Matsukawa and Hanamaki both snorted at, but soon Matsukawa left the room with a change of clothes and a, “I’ll be back in like an hour.”

Once alone, Hanamaki waited for Oikawa to start.

Oikawa let out a breath. “I’m compatible with Iwaizumi. I think I might even be starting to like him.”

Hanamaki blinked a couple of times. “Wow. I thought it would take you at least another week to admit that.”

Oikawa puffed his cheeks out. “In another week, I won’t be around. The O.R.A. contacted my dad, and he’s going to vote to demolish the omega housing units, right?”

When Hanamaki nodded, Oikawa continued. “I wanted to admit that to someone so I could get it out of my head. Why do I like him?! I mean, it’s been less than a month, and the circumstances aren’t exactly romantic or anything so why?”

Hanamaki shrugged. “Why do any of us like the people we like? I mean, why do you keep coming to me for advice if not because we’re becoming friends?”

Oikawa thought about that for a moment. “I…I don’t know. Even if I had access to my phone, I don’t exactly have a lot of omega friends to contact about this. Many of my friends are betas, and my teammates are a mix of alphas and betas, but I haven’t really bonded with any of their omegas or with any omegas before meeting you, Hanamaki.” Oikawa trailed off to think this over more.

Hanamaki shifted in bed until he was lying on his side and cradled his head in his hand. He was quiet until Oikawa spoke again.

“I guess it’s because I trust you. Honestly.” Oikawa looked up into Hanamaki’s eyes then. “Yeah. I trust you, Hanamaki. I want to be friends because I know you have my back.”

“Even though I was involved in the plot to kidnap you?”

Oikawa nodded in response.

“So why not trust Iwaizumi?”

Oikawa frowned again. Why not trust Iwaizumi? “Maybe…I’ve never had a romantic interest in someone before. Sure, I’ve had boyfriends and girlfriends, but…I was never serious. I always knew that volleyball would come first and foremost.”

Hanamaki raised his eyebrows at this information. “Are you saying that Iwaizumi might come before volleyball?”

“I don’t know!” Oikawa whined again, not wanting to give it serious thought but knowing he had to. He had to figure out his feelings before Iwaizumi came back to the cabin. “No. He can’t come before volleyball. I mean, my goal is to play in the upcoming Olympics. That’s like, my ultimate goal, and I’m so close to achieving it! The first omega to play in the Olympics on a team consisting of alphas and betas. To play on an Olympic team and to win has been unattainable until now...”

Oikawa trailed off as he thought about it more. No, Iwaizumi wouldn’t come before this. “So why bother pursuing him? If I’m going to be training for the Olympics, why pursue him now when I’m going to have to neglect him later?”

Hanamaki nodded after Oikawa’s explanation was finished. “Goal-oriented. That’s what you are. And, yeah. It might not be fair to either of you to pursue Iwaizumi right now. Actually, it’s probably better if you wait, if you want my honest opinion. Iwaizumi…he’s going through some shit right now. I won’t tell you anything, because that’s something Iwaizumi should tell you, but the stuff he’s dealing with is part of the reason he was involved in the plot to kidnap you.”

Oikawa digested this new piece of information. He was wondering what Iwaizumi was dealing with that could involve him in something so major. He figured that Hanamaki had his reasons, Matsukawa had his, and that would mean that Iwaizumi had his own as well. Oikawa would just need to think about this more.

“Thank you, Makki. I think I have my answer. Or…I will by the time Iwa-chan gets back.”

Hanamaki gave him a thumbs up, and Oikawa left the room to go practice some serves. He always did think better after a good workout. And he always got a good workout in practicing his serves.

~*~*~*~

Iwaizumi returned earlier this morning, and Oikawa still hasn’t mustered up the courage to face him.

He’s given it a lot of thought, and he knew that he wouldn’t pursue Iwaizumi. He couldn’t. He needed to stay on the national team. There was a niggling worry at the back of his mind that the national team would be taken away from him if he were to get an alpha. He didn’t think Iwaizumi would take that away from him, but he did think everyone else would. Oikawa knew that he was on thin fucking ice already, but the push from multiple omega rights organizations had supported him tremendously. He was going to go down in history for this, and omegas all over the world needed this more than Oikawa needed a mate.

With his decision made, Oikawa focused more on practice and less on Iwaizumi.

If only it was that easy.

Iwaizumi was a constant presence in his thoughts, even when Oikawa wasn’t thinking about him. The alpha was in the back of his mind like the shadow of a half-formed thought that echoed in Oikawa’s head until he was forced to acknowledge that he wanted Iwaizumi to be near him. His omega was particularly needy, wanting Iwaizumi close, wanting to scent him, wanting to be in his bed again. And _fuck_ if Oikawa didn’t want to listen to his instincts. He couldn’t, but damn did he _want to_.

It was a good thing Iwaizumi seemed to be resolutely absent whenever Oikawa was in the house and not practicing. Oikawa would be suspicious if he wasn’t so relieved.

A clap pulled Oikawa from his thoughts, and he saw Hanamaki clapping at him. What the heck?

“Dinner is ready! Get in here!”

Oikawa’s eyes drifted toward the sky. He hadn’t realized the day passed so quickly. He followed Hanamaki into the house, and the two actually sat at the dining table instead of the living room.

Matsukawa was already seated, and he nodded at the two. Iwaizumi was bringing in dinner dishes, and he sat down after everyone was served.

Oikawa glanced around the table.

“What’s the occasion?”

The other three looked between each other for a moment.

“It’s…uh…actually my birthday.”

Oikawa’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Iwa-chan! You didn’t tell me that! You don’t have to be here! I won’t try to run away. You should be with your family right now.”

Matsukawa coughed, and Hanamaki cleared his throat. Oikawa didn’t understand what was wrong until he saw Iwaizumi’s frown.

“That’s not possible, Shittykawa.”

A sliver of hurt struck Oikawa at the nickname. Iwaizumi had hardly used those horrendous nicknames since that day he had dubbed Iwaizumi as ‘Iwa-chan’, and he had thought they’d been done away with. So why the return of them now? Was it something he said?

“No need to be rude, Iwa-chan. I was trying to be considerate.” His reply came out more biting than he had wanted it to.

Iwaizumi’s frown deepened, and Oikawa wanted to remind him that he would get wrinkles if he kept frowning like that, but he kept his mouth shut when Iwaizumi pushed away from the table and turned to leave the room.

Oikawa blinked. He was…confused.

Next to him, Hanamaki sighed. “I’ll get him. Please wait here.”

Hanamaki followed after Iwaizumi, so Oikawa turned to the only person left in the room who could answer his questions: Matsukawa.

Matsukawa rubbed the back of his neck, ready with an answer before Oikawa could even ask the question.

“Iwaizumi’s family is a sensitive topic. I’m surprised Hanamaki didn’t mention it.”

Oikawa’s questioning expression slipped into one of surprise. “The only thing Makki mentioned is the fact that Iwa-chan had his reasons for being involved in my kidnapping.”

Matsukawa’s hand rubbed over his mouth next. “You…might want to ask Iwaizumi about that, actually. It’s true that each of us had our own reasons for being involved in this, but I think Iwaizumi was the most caught off guard by the results.”

Oikawa tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

Matsukawa sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “I’m assuming Hanamaki told you about his involvement with the O.R.A., right?”

A slow nod. Oikawa had the gist of it, and he assumed that Hanamaki was still involved with them because what omega wouldn’t be, given the choice? Especially after what they did for him.

Matsukawa nodded. “Right. So, Hanamaki agreed to…kidnap you, essentially, because he felt like he needed to go through with this plan to abolish the omega housing units. I agreed to help because Hanamaki is my mate, but I also have a sister who is stuck in one of the housing units. I was denied access to her apartment, and I haven’t had contact with her in over 6 months.”

The gasp that left Oikawa was loud. He…had no idea.

“Yeah…” Matsukawa rubbed his hand through his hair again. “She was put in there after her trash boyfriend of an alpha left her, and I wasn’t able to get to her fast enough before she was put in the housing unit. I don’t even have her cell phone number because that bastard took it away from her. I’ve tried email, but she hasn’t answered me. I…I don’t even know if she’s alive…”

Oikawa’s eyes widened as he noticed the tears slipping from Matsukawa’s eyes. Matsukawa tried to hide them by covering his face with his hands, but Oikawa was well-versed in the art of observation.

“I’m so sorry, Matsukawa. I had no idea.” Oikawa wanted to comfort him, but he was at a loss. He didn’t know how to comfort a crying alpha. He hasn’t hardly seen an alpha cry before! It was…it was heartbreaking, and Oikawa’s perspective was rocked yet again as it shifted. “I can get Hanamaki?”

Matsukawa answered with a sniffle and a, “Please.”

Oikawa was up seconds later. He left Matsukawa with a parting shoulder pat, and he followed Hanamaki’s voice through the backdoor and onto the porch. Iwaizumi and Hanamaki were sitting side-by-side on the deck, but they stopped talking when Oikawa came through the door. Oikawa wrung his hands.

“Sorry for interrupting, but Matsukawa needs you, Hanamaki. Uh…he told me about his sister.”

Hanamaki’s eyes widened, and he stood quickly. He glanced back at Iwaizumi before heading inside. “Think about what I said, okay?” Then, he went through the house to Matsukawa's side.

Iwaizumi’s head turned away from Oikawa the second Hanamaki was out of sight, and Oikawa couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. He wasn’t going back inside, because Hanamaki and Matsukawa needed their privacy, but he couldn’t stay out here with Iwaizumi either without it being weird.

Until…

“Sit down, Trashykawa. Let your knee rest.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened, but he listened to Iwaizumi and took a seat next to the alpha.

He couldn’t stop glancing at Iwaizumi from the corner of his eye as they sat in silence, and Iwaizumi must have caught him glancing because he turned his head to face Oikawa. “What?”

Oikawa’s eyes slid away from the green of Iwaizumi’s, and he mumbled, “No need to be rude, Iwa-chan. I’m trying to figure out how to best apologize.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widened at that, he looked away quickly.

It was minutes later when Iwaizumi’s whispered, “It doesn’t matter,” reached Oikawa’s ears.

Oikawa sighed and leaned back on his arms. He tilted his head up to the slowly darkening sky. “To me, it does matter. Even though it’s against my better judgement, I’ve come to care for you guys. I don’t want to hurt Makki, Mattsu, or you. Even if it’s indirectly.”

Oikawa registered Iwaizumi’s hand nearing his face. Before Iwaizumi cupped his cheek, he asked, “Can I touch you?”

Oikawa closed his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to indulge, if only briefly. He tilted his head so Iwaizumi was cupping his cheek, and the warm skin of Iwaizumi’s hand sent a shiver down Oikawa’s spine.

“Yes, Iwaizumi?”

He felt Iwaizumi shifting and blinked his eyes open, only to jerk back when he saw how close the alpha was to him. Close enough to kiss, his mind supplied unhelpfully.

Iwaizumi frowned – and was that a blush? – before he jerked away himself. “S…sorry.”

Oikawa shook his head. Jeez. What was going on?

“What is it you want to say, Iwa-chan?”

Oikawa watched as Iwaizumi seemed to tense up. Even his jaw was clenched tight before all the tension seemed to melt from him. His shoulders dropped, his jaw unclenched, and Iwaizumi turned away.

“My mom and my sister have been in the omega housing units for a while now. I used to be able to visit them while I was in my undergrad. Ever since I started my sports medicine program, I’ve been denied access to them. I don’t know why.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened as surprise shot through him for the second time tonight.

Iwaizumi still wasn’t looking at him. “I’ve been able to text my sister, but my mom’s cell phone was confiscated. My sister has been hiding her phone so she can still reach me. She’s told me that they’re fine, but I can tell she’s lying. I…I didn’t know what to do. So, when Hanamaki and Matsukawa asked for my help in kidnapping a famous omega volleyball player in order to sway his councilman dad’s vote to abolish the omega housing units, I felt like I was finally doing something in order to help my mom and my sister.”

Iwaizumi stood and started pacing back and forth over the sand court. Oikawa stayed where he was, but he kept an eye on Iwaizumi’s movements.

“Imagine my surprise when the omega is you.” Iwaizumi walked right up to Oikawa and stopped in front of his knees. He looked directly into Oikawa’s eyes and took a deep breath. “Imagine my surprise when I found you compatible. To me.”

Oikawa swallowed. Hard. He knew it. He _knew_ it.

He knew it, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

Iwaizumi was waiting for his answer, so Oikawa slid his eyes away from the alpha. He couldn’t look at Iwaizumi as he said this. He just couldn’t.

“Compatible? Iwa-chan, I think you’re losing your mind.”

~*~*~*~

That stopped Iwaizumi short. “What do you mean?”

He stared hard at the omega, and Oikawa sighed as he glanced from the tree line into Iwaizumi’s eyes. “I haven’t felt anything of the sort.”

Surprise and doubt flickered through Iwaizumi. Oikawa didn’t notice? Iwaizumi swore he thought that Oikawa reciprocated the compatibility, but…

Iwaizumi hasn’t been able to scent him yet.

Was Iwaizumi wrong?

It did happen. One-sided compatibility. Finding a mate that reciprocated compatibility was actually somewhat rare, so one-sided compatibility occurred more often than mutual compatibility.

Oikawa really didn’t reciprocate?

Iwaizumi sat down on the sandy court and blinked a few times. Well, this was awkward and wrong and messy, and he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what he would have done if Oikawa felt the pull of compatibility either. It was all a jumble, and Iwaizumi didn’t know how to _fix it_.

“Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi looked up, and Oikawa was crouching in front of him. He looked worried, but then, Iwaizumi did just plop down out of nowhere and wander with his thoughts for who-knows-how-long.

“You okay?”

The omega’s soft voice was soothing, and Iwaizumi ached to hear it for the rest of his life. But he couldn’t. Not if Oikawa didn’t want him to. Even if they were compatible, Oikawa probably wouldn’t put his life on hold for Iwaizumi. Not to mention that Iwaizumi had his own life to sort out. He couldn’t wait for Oikawa before he freed his family. Before he got them back.

Maybe it was better this way.

He could deal with the longing of a one-sided compatibility. It wouldn’t kill him. Others dealt with it all the time, and Iwaizumi would deal with it too. He had more important matters to attend to before he got involved with anything of the sort anyway.

Iwaizumi stood abruptly and brushed the sand off of his shorts. “I’m fine, Oikawa. I’m sorry for bringing that up.”

Oikawa stood as well, and he looked like he was about to say something when he was cut off by Hanamaki’s voice.

“Come inside you guys! Dinner is getting cold.”

The two looked at Hanamaki and then back at each other. Something lit up Oikawa’s eyes, and he waved Hanamaki inside telling him that they would be coming, just a few more minutes.

Iwaizumi raised his eyebrow at that statement, and he was about to ask Oikawa why he said that when Oikawa turned back around and dragged him in by the collar of his shirt.

“Since I didn’t get Iwa-chan anything for his birthday, I’m gifting him this. Something to remember me by after I’m gone.” Then, he leaned in and kissed Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi was dumbstruck; he almost didn’t respond. His lack of response spurred Oikawa to take control of the kiss, and he was slowly exploring Iwaizumi’s mouth. As Iwaizumi let Oikawa's tongue slip past his lips, the taste of vanilla exploded across his senses. The jolt awakened something in Iwaizumi, and he wrapped an arm around Oikawa's waist to pull him in close while he slid his other hand through Oikawa's hair.

It was as soft as it looked.

He took his time exploring Oikawa’s mouth, seeking more of that delicious vanilla taste, before the two separated for some air.

Oikawa looked absolutely heavenly with ruffled hair, a spit-slicked mouth, and hooded eyes. “Happy birthday, Iwa-chan. I’m sorry it couldn’t be with your family this year.”

Iwaizumi took in the picture before him, before sliding his eyes away. A blush lit his cheeks as a thought crossed his mind – the thought that this felt pretty damn close to a family. He shook those thoughts from his mind and replied with, “Thanks, Oikawa. I hope that wasn’t your first kiss you gave me.”

A squawk of protest sounded from Oikawa, and Iwaizumi couldn’t help but smile. Predictable. Adorable. Absolutely addicting. It was probably a good thing Iwaizumi wouldn’t ever be seeing him again.

Otherwise, he wasn’t sure how he would handle this feeling in his chest.

Now, looking at Oikawa as he straightened himself up before turning to walk inside, Iwaizumi couldn’t help but wish they were meant for each other. He selfishly wanted to get his mom and sister back and keep Oikawa at the same time. It just wasn’t possible. Iwaizumi was selfish, but he has learned to let things go. And Oikawa was something he couldn’t hold onto. No matter how hard he tried.

Iwaizumi was snapped out of his thoughts when Oikawa turned back to look at him. “Coming, Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi could only nod as he followed the other man inside the house.

~*~*~*~

“The Omega Housing Notion, a movement that was passed last week, aims to abolish the government-run omega housing units that have been used to house unmated and widowed omegas for many years. Abolishment will be a slow process with programs run by the Omega Rights Activist organization. The O.R.A. is a notable organization for advocating for omega rights and have gained popularity with many in recent years. The O.R.A. requested to work with the Omega Protection Agency within the government to re-integrate omegas into society, as many of these omegas haven’t lived in normal society for many years. The passing of this notion rocked the nation when the vote came down to 49-51 majority with councilman Oikawa-san tipping the scales in support of the Omega Housing Notion.

"Oikawa-san has been very outspoken against organizations like the O.R.A., and it is speculated that his vote may have been influenced by his son’s announcement that he has been picked to play in the upcoming Olympics. An omega playing in the Olympics is an unprecedented event, and Oikawa-kun has been outspoken about omegas rights and the unequal treatment of omegas this past week. His social media break seems to have fueled his fire to show increased support for organizations like the O.R.A., which has released a public statement in support of Oikawa-kun’s future endeavors in the Olympics, where he will play as a setter for the Japanese National Volleyball Team. More news to come after this commercial break.”

Oikawa clicked off the TV. So much has happened in the past two weeks, and Oikawa was frankly exhausted.

First, he was brought home by Iwaizumi, Hanamaki, and Matsukawa the day after the outcome for the Omega Housing Notion was announced. He stayed in his apartment for a day before returning to his parent’s house. His mother had been so tearful to finally have him back that she hadn’t let him out of her sight for nearly two days.

Ironically, his father was the one to pry Oikawa away from his mother, and his father had a stern discussion with Oikawa about illegal activities such as swaying his vote. Luckily, Oikawa got away with no more than a metaphorical slap on the wrist. He would need to make as many public appearances as his father wanted him to at political events, but any major repercussions for bribery weren’t addressed. To his father, Oikawa’s kidnapping was viewed as a voluntary act to sway his vote by threatening his father to release his secrets to the world and not contacting either his father or mother during this time. Oikawa didn’t bother to correct him. His mother knew that it wasn’t voluntary initially, but she never spoke out against his father, so the matter was let go.

Then, he had to show up back to his team. Apparently, they all thought he took a leave with his mother in some obscure island with no cellphone service. His father arranged this story with him beforehand. He felt a little bad lying to his teammates, but he knew that he couldn’t exactly reveal he had been kidnapped and used as ransom then as bribery to sway his father’s decision on the Omega Housing Notion.

Since his father included in his fake story that Oikawa was practicing while he was on the island, Oikawa was able to explain away his mistakes with the truth – that he had been practicing on a sand court and not an indoor one. His teammates and coaches accepted that, and it wasn’t that big of a deal because he only missed a week of practice. He was lucky that the team had taken a mandatory three weeks of leave before training started, and those three weeks coincided with his kidnapping. Only missing a week of practice left it easier to catch back up. Although, he made sure to never be caught off guard and kidnapped again.

As for everything else, he kept in contact with Hanamaki and - by extension - Matsukawa. Iwaizumi hadn’t given Oikawa his number and Oikawa hadn’t given Iwaizumi his number and Oikawa was too much of a chicken to ask Hanamaki for Iwaizumi’s number, so Oikawa compromised with the ache in his chest by watching the news every night to see the stories about omegas being released from the omega housing units to family members.

Many reunited stories were covered on the news and a lot of them brought Oikawa to tears. There were also stories covering the programs aiming to help the omegas who lived in the omega housing units for far too long and how these programs would help them find a stable job, get a stable income, rent a house or an apartment, and live independently on their own again. It would take months, or even years, for some omegas to readjust to living in a society where they are free to do whatever they want, and Oikawa felt empowered that he helped in this life-changing event.

Of course, Oikawa knew this wasn’t the only life-changing event he was taking a part in.

Becoming the first omega ever to participate in the Olympics, Oikawa was making a name for himself. The Japan National Team's coach announced the players picked for the Olympics days after Oikawa came back to practice, and he was thrust even more into the spotlight. He had so many interviews, and it was exhausting to keep up sometimes. He was lucky the national team’s PR personnel were excellent at their jobs; all Oikawa really had to worry about was his team and practices. Otherwise, his schedule was handled by his PR handler.

Usually, there were news people hanging around their practice building at all hours of the day and night, but they were usually cleared away by security. If anyone tried to approach Oikawa directly, Bo-kun, Waka-chan, Shou-chan, Omi-kun, or Aran-chan were always one step away, getting everyone away from Oikawa.

Oikawa had the passing thought that his teammates didn’t entirely believe his father’s island vacation story, but no one asked him to explain himself, so Oikawa let it be.

Now that he was used to playing on a stable court again, he was ready to hit the ground running.

Three weeks of grueling practices later saw Oikawa back in top form. One week of mediocre practices left him frustrated. Then came the day he started to feel feverish in the middle of practice. It was unusual, and he sat out for the remainder of practice.

When practice was over and Oikawa was alone in the omega changing room, his phone lit with a notification informing him that his cycle was complete.

His hot flashes were normal.

His heat had come.

He had forgotten all about it.

**Author's Note:**

> There will be another part! It’s still being written. Thank you for reading!


End file.
